Author: Deadline

EXCLUSIVE: Vertical has acquired U.S. distribution rights to the horror film Pendulum, the directorial debut of Mark Heyman, the BAFTA-nominated writer of Black Swan. Produced by Darren Aronofsky (The Whale) for Protozoa, Motel Mojave’s Jacob Jaffke (X trilogy), and C2’s Dave Caplan (Longlegs), the film stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Looper), Phoebe Dynevor (Fair Play), Norman Reedus (Ballerina), and two-time Oscar nominee Jacki Weaver (Silver Linings Playbook). Vertical is setting Pendulum for a wide release on January 1, 2027. Below is a first-look at the movie. In Heyman’s script, “married couple Patrick (Gordon-Levitt) and Abigail (Dynevor) journey to a new-age retreat in…

EXCLUSIVE: Here’s a nice genre package. Allison Williams (M3gan) and Michelle Randolph (Scream 7) are set to star in sci-fi survival thriller Homewrecker from leading French genre filmmaker Xavier Gens, known for directing Netflix’s hit shark movie Under Paris and on series including Lupin and Gangs of London. The synopsis for the original screenplay by Elisa Bell (Vegas Vacation) and Travis Gordon reads: “During a heart-breaking domestic revelation, three star-crossed Americans are suddenly forced to work together to survive a terrifying unexplained global event that threatens to destroy life as they know it.” The project, which the producers have likened…

Asked whether Disney’s layoffs last month of about 1,000 workers could be followed by more cutbacks, executives said Wednesday the company is exploring all options as it builds “a culture of efficiency.” Newly minted CEO Josh D’Amaro and CFO Hugh Johnston fielded questions about cost savings, staffing and artificial intelligence during the company’s quarterly earnings call with Wall Street analysts. D’Amaro largely focused on uses of AI to improve the creative process and the guest experience at theme parks, leaving Johnston to provide the primary outlook on the workforce. One analysts noted the April cuts, per a question read aloud…

Neon has taken U.S. rights to Jeff Nichols‘ next movie King Snake. A Southern gothic horror, King Snake follows a young couple (Margaret Qualley and Drew Starkey) who inherit an Arkansas farm where they face real-world problems and supernatural forces, battling physical and metaphysical demons while confronting the property’s dark legacy. Michael Shannon also stars. FilmNation Entertainment financed the film and is handling worldwide sales. Pic is produced by Nichols and his Tri-State Pictures partners Brian Kavanaugh-Jones and Sarah Green, in association with Range Media Partners. FilmNation’s Stacey Snider and Glen Basner Executive Produce.The deal was negotiated by NEON and FilmNation Entertainment…

EXCLUSIVE: Patrick Schwarzenegger has joined the S. Craig Zahler movie, The Bookie & The Bruiser, where he will star in a dual role opposite Vince Vaughn and Theo James. The Bookie & The Bruiser is set in 1959 New York City and features a pensive, Jewish fellow named Rivner (James) and an oversized Italian American tough named Boscolo (Vaughn). Having served in World War II, the two return as changed men, no longer fitting into their old lives. Unwilling to take orders or play by the rules of polite society, the two partner up as a bookmaker and his enforcer and…

In Ioana Mischie’s film Catane, twin girls weave their long red hair together into a single braid and squeeze themselves into one sweater to make it appear they are conjoined. Why would they do such a thing? Well, it’s all part of a larger “conspiracy.” It seems the Romanian mountain village where they live has been pulling off a bit of a scheme. The handful of inhabitants all claim to live with physical or mental conditions of one kind or another – the better to enjoy government benefits. Back in Bucharest, a red flag is raised among government officials. “All…

If Desert Warrior was one of Saudi Arabia’s big cinema swings, then it looks to have been a swing and a miss, based on the movie’s early box office takings. Starring Captain America’s Anthony Mackie and Oscar winner Ben Kingsley, Desert Warrior endured a troubled five-year trek to the screen, but finally debuted in theaters last weekend across the U.S. and Middle East. Set up at Riyadh media giant MBC Group and acquired by Vertical, the movie has suffered bruising headlines based on its performance in the U.S., where it had grossed $596,000 on 1,010 screens as of Thursday, and…

EXCLUSIVE: Richard Gere (Pretty Woman) and Diana Silvers (Booksmart) have been set to star in Oscar winner Edward Zwick‘s romantic drama Asymmetry, which is based on Lisa Halliday’s acclaimed 2018 novel of the same name. Halliday collaborated with Zwick (The Last Samurai) and Marshall Herskovitz on the screenplay, with Zwick and Herskovitz of the Bedford Falls Company producing alongside Clay Pecorin of Rainmaker Films and FilmNation Entertainment. FilmNation and Rainmaker are co-financing. FilmNation will launch international sales at the upcoming Cannes market and co-rep domestic rights with CAA Media Finance Group. Asymmetry, per the logline, tells the story of a young editorial assistant in New York,…

Prime Video is about to set sail on a summer full of new projects in the young adult and romance spaces. Several splashy book adaptations, films and shows coming to the streamer in the next couple of months were teased in a sizzle reel of first look footage this morning. Highly anticipated films that got first look footage include The Love Hypothesis, based on the book by Ali Hazelwood; Clashing Through The Snow, starring Christopher Briney and Michelle Randolph; The Devil’s Mouth, starring Kathryn Newton, Lana Condor, Gavin Casalegno and more; and The Last Sunrise based on Anna Todd’s novel…

EXCLUSIVE: Oscar and Olivier winner Mark Rylance (Bridge of Spies) is set to star in and make his feature directorial debut with Nice Fish, alongside five-time Oscar nominee Michelle Williams (Brokeback Mountain), Jim Lichtscheidl (A Serious Man), and Isabella LaBlanc (True Detective: Night Country). Tamara Birkemoe, CEO of Palisades Park Pictures, is launching international sales on the project at the upcoming Cannes Film Market. CAA Media Finance will represent North American rights. Nice Fish first originated as a successful stage play, later earning an Olivier Award nomination. The production was largely a collaboration between Rylance and prose poet Louis Jenkins,…